


homesick and hoping

by brahe



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Adult Ezra Bridger, Adult Sabine Wren, Crew as Family, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ezra Bridger Needs a Hug, Family, Family Feels, Light Angst, Light Grief, Parent-child relationships, Parental Hera Syndulla, Post-Star Wars: Rebels, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Space Mom Hera Syndulla, Star Wars: Rebels Spoilers, ezra has emotions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:07:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21843406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brahe/pseuds/brahe
Summary: "How long has it been?" Sabine asks, looking across at him, and it's not accusatory, not judgmental, but Ezra closes his eyes against the guilt anyway as he thinks about it."Three years," he says. "Maybe longer."Or,Ezra and Sabine head to Yavin to recruit Hera back into the fight.
Relationships: Ezra Bridger & Hera Syndulla, Ezra Bridger & Sabine Wren
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44
Collections: Rebels ROS Event





	homesick and hoping

**Author's Note:**

> i didn't think i'd be able to finish a fic in time for this event with all the irl things but i'm glad this is the one that happened
> 
> there's hardly any major au background in the actual story, but this is kind of in an unspecified au post-rebels, post-tlj, pre-ros; ezra was rescued by sabine and ahsoka, he started training jacen before he quit bc it was too much to handle after coming back. jacen, ezra, and sabine are all actively involved in the resistance; ezra and sabine fly missions on the ghost, which hera gave to sabine when she took a planetside position on the yavin base when jacen was a few years old. ezra and ahsoka have a bit of a vague force bond that i imagine is something related to the time travel things. sabine got into the habit of calling hera mom from when jacen was little and she would say things like "let's go see what mom's doing!"
> 
> the concept of rek tea being kanan's go-to is stolen from [inconocible](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inconocible/pseuds/inconocible/) it's so _chef's kiss_ icee ily bae
> 
> title from howl by outlya
> 
> enjoy!

Hera's outside when they land at the Yavin base, standing just beyond the reach of the hanger awning, half in shadow. Ezra can't really see her, but he can feel her, the same strong bright spot she's always been, a beacon of light, love. He sighs when Sabine shuts off the engines, feels himself relax despite his misgivings about why they're here, releases the tension in his shoulders and his neck.

Sabine's looking over at him, studying. "How long has it been?" she asks, and it's not accusatory, not judgmental, but Ezra closes his eyes against the guilt anyway as he thinks about it.

"Three years," he says. "Maybe longer." 

Time's been hard for him, since Sabine brought him back, hard to keep track even on the best of days, but he knows it's not a good enough excuse. The last time he saw Hera in person was some time after his rescue but before his deep involvement with Leia and the Resistance, before he picked up the lightsaber again.

Sabine doesn't say anything, but she rests her hand on his shoulder when she stands. "Come on," she tells him, heading out of the cockpit. "Mom's waiting."

Hera meets them a few steps from the edge of the  _ Ghost's  _ ramp, and Ezra follows Sabine down. He watches Sabine rush down to Hera, watches her throw her arms around Hera.

"Hi, sweetie," Hera says, holding onto Sabine in a warm, lingering hug. For a moment, the rest of the galaxy fades away, disappears behind the familiar love that radiates from the both of them, and Ezra knows a peace he rarely feels, hasn't felt since before Kanan died.

Sabine steps away from Hera, and it's Ezra's turn now, closing the last of the space between them. She looks the same as she always has – maybe a little older, Ezra can't tell – still wearing her flightsuit even though he knows she hardly flies anymore.

He's hesitating, held back by something he can't find, can't name, until Hera holds her arms out to him. "C'mere, love," she says, and Ezra steps into her arms, everything falling away except Hera and her familiar warmth. He's missed her so much –

He chokes on a sob and he wraps his arms around her, hands fisted in the back of her flightsuit, pressing his face into her shoulder as he cries, such a heavy release of emotions he didn't know he'd been holding. 

Ezra curls into her, and Hera brings one hand up to the back of his head, threading her fingers through his hair. She holds him to her, presses a kiss to his temple, and not for the first time she thanks the stars for giving him back to her, for bringing her baby back home.

"'m sorry I didn't visit more," Ezra tells her, muffled into her shirt. She rubs her hand up and down his back.

"It's okay," she says, "it's okay. You're here now."

Ezra tightens his grip in the cloth at her back, and another sob shakes his shoulders. Briefly, she wishes they weren't in the middle of the tarmac, wishes she could hold him properly, even though he's too big for that now.

"Sh, baby, it's okay," she says, voice quiet, soothing, rocking them back and forth on her feet as Ezra's breaths stutter. 

She shifts her hands, cups Ezra's face under her palms and moves his head away from her shoulder so she can look at him. She rubs under his eyes at the sticky tear-tracks on his face, and he offers her a smile, something small and half-sheepish and a little wobbly at the edges.

"I love you," she says, and Ezra makes a sound like he's going to cry again – he doesn't, but it's a close thing, eyes shining in the sunlight. 

"Love you, too," he says, soft, slowly unclenching his hands at her back. Hera pulls him down to her to press a kiss against his forehead, lingering long enough to think about how tall he's gotten, and she pushes his hair back as she lets him go.

He stays close to her as she turns, and she can feel whisps what she knows as his Force signature wrapped around her. She looks between him and Sabine. "What brings you to Yavin?" 

"Well, actually –" Sabine starts, and she looks at Ezra. "There's something we were hoping to talk to you about," she says. Hera feels Ezra stiffen, and she tucks her hands into the pockets of her jumpsuit.

"Come on in, then," she tells them. "We'll talk over some tea."

  
  


Hera leads them to her office – a moderately sized room above the cargo bay, with a window open out to the landing field. Ezra stands by the window and looks across the sky as Hera makes them tea; the familiar, nostalgic smell of rek tea fills the space, brings memories of early mornings and late nights with Kanan in the  _ Ghost  _ with it across the room.

Ezra hears Hera hand a cup to Sabine, her soft  _ thanks  _ mostly lost to him, and then Hera's by his side, warmth radiating from her. She passes him one of the two cups she's holding, and Ezra lets the heat of it spread through his palms. It's the first time he's had the tea since – since everything, and it hurts at the same rate it comforts.

He turns to Hera and finds she's already looking at him, the same love and sympathy he can feel seeping from her in the Force written on her face. There's a million things he wants to say,  _ needs  _ to say, but he can't find the words here, now, and so he simply offers her a smile – the sister of the one before, gentle and shaking at the edges, grief in equal part with gratitude – and further wraps himself with the bright spark of her Force presence.

Hera moves away from the window to sit on the corner of her desk, between Ezra still at the sill and Sabine in one of the visitor chairs.

"So," she starts, taking a sip of the tea, slow against the memories. "I'm very happy to see you," she says, with a pointed look to Ezra that makes him look down at his shoes like he's fifteen years old again, "but what's going on?" 

Ezra feels Sabine's eyes on him, which – that's not fair, this was her idea, but he can feel her thoughts well enough, and it's on him, now,  _ apparently,  _ to broach this. He glares back at her, unsympathetic to her apologetic look, but settles against the sill as he turns to Hera.

"We need you," he tells her, and she blinks at him, steady, unreadable. "We need you to fly."

Hera starts to shake her head, looking down into her teacup, and Ezra expected this, expected her to resist – she's been out of the action for so long, working behind the scenes for as long as she's had Jacen. But Jacen's in the fight now, too, has been since maybe a year after Ezra bailed on his training, and he knows,  _ knows  _ she's what they need to win it.

He opens his mouth to continue, thinking of how to persuade her, when she looks back to him.

"Alright," she says, determination set into her features, into her presence, and Ezra blinks, shocked.

"Wait –" Sabine starts, looking between Hera and Ezra. 

"You're agreeing?" Ezra asks. "Just like that?" 

Hera sets her teacup down on the desk behind her and rubs her hands along her thighs.

"Of course I am," she tells them. "Did you really think I'd say no?" 

"Ezra did," Sabine says, immediately tossing him to the sarlacc, and he's quick to glare at her again.

"I  _ didn't _ ," he corrects, holding up a finger. "I said I didn't want to drag Hera back into this if she didn't want to be."

Sabine waves her hand at him, but Hera gives him a look he can't quite make out. She looks past him for a moment, gaze shifting to the ships outside the window before focusing back on Ezra.

"I've never truly been out of it," she tells him. "As long as there's darkness to fight, I'll never be out of it."

And yes, Ezra didn't want to pull her from the happiness she's found, didn't want to ask because he knew she'd say yes at the end of it because it was  _ them  _ asking, and he learned a long time ago that she was bad at denying them the things that really mattered. But they need her, the  _ Ghost  _ needs her, the galaxy needs her – and he knew she'd agree.

"We should get going as soon as you can leave," Sabine says, standing, her tea finished. "We're too late to make it to Crait, but I've talked to Jacen and the Resistance is regrouping near the Rattatak system."

Hera stands, too. "Give me twenty minutes," she tells them. "I'll meet you at the  _ Ghost _ ." 

They watch her leave the room, and Sabine sighs when the door slides back shut. 

"That was easier than I thought it would be," she says. Ezra pushes away from the window and meets her in the middle of the room.

"I can't believe you made me do it," Ezra scoffs, bumping his shoulder against Sabine's. "But I knew she'd agree."

Sabine looks at him with a half scowl. "If you knew she'd come back that easy, why were you so against asking?"

Ezra shakes his head. "I knew she'd come back," he says, "but I didn't know it'd be that easy." Though, he thinks, he should've expected it. The rest of her family is already in the fight – and it's not in her to leave such an enemy alone.

"Well," Sabine says, glancing at Ezra. "Wanna help with the next one?" 

Ezra finishes the last of his tea and sets it on the desk next to Hera's. There's a group of holos on the opposite corner – snapshots of their family as it's changed over time. 

"No need," he says, looking away from the one of Sabine and Ahsoka standing at the ramp of the  _ Ghost _ . He stretches out his fingers as he lets the Force flow through him. "She's already on the way."


End file.
